How to Become More Productive: The Pomodoro Technique

I am involved in a ton of different things; running my startups, writing software, designing circuits, ?doing research, among other things.

To be able to accomplish all of my tasks in time, I try to be very ?productive and make maximum use of my day. ?Several years ago, In my quest for better productivity, I came across The Pomodoro Technique and it has been an indispensable tool since.

In this post I’ll share what the Pomodoro technique is and how you can also use it to increase your productivity.

What is The Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The?technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks of 5 or 10 minute intervals to allow for?rest.

How It Works

The Pomodoro Technique is very simple to implement. All your need is a timer. You can use your phone’s count down timer or download a Pomodoro timer app from?Google Playstore or The App Store.?If you mostly work online from a laptop like me, there are also a lot of online Pomodoro timers that you can use.

You choose a task to be accomplished. (eg. Do Math Homework. You can write it down in a book or on a sheet or in an app if you are using one)

Set the Pomodoro timer (traditionally to 25 minutes)

Work on the task until the Pomodoro timer rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper to count as 1 Pomodoro.

Take a short break (3 – 5 minutes is OK)

After every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break to recharge and release stress (20 – 30 minutes is ideal. Play a game, take a walk, answer messages, etc)

If you get distracted during the Pomodoro (like you get a call or a message or a work colleague calls you, you can ignore the distraction and write it down to attend to it during your break. If you decide to attend to the distraction, you’ll usually have to restart the Pomodoro (if you want to).

Before commencing your Pomodoro, it’s important to have a list of tasks you want to do for the day. And it’s even better if you can list your tasks in order of urgency or priority. Usually, you’d want to do that at the beginning of the day.

Make a Daily To-Do List

There are a lot of great To-Do apps out there to help with listing your tasks. I use an app called Ike, which uses the Eisenhower Matrix to let you order tasks based on how important or urgent they are.

There are many benefits of using the Pomodoro Technique. I outline a few of them below.

Benefits of The Pomodoro Technique

?Because Pomodoro is a cyclical system, you work in short sprints, making you more productive.

It also helps you to minimize distractions and discourage multitasking, which can drain your focus and productivity. (Note: Some people are still able to work efficiently while multitasking so ?this may not apply to everyone).

Regular, short breaks associated with the Pomodoro Technique are good for your health, keep you motivated and help you concentrate better, especially if you spend the whole day at your desk.

Using it to break tasks down into shorter, highly focused?work sessions helps you manage your time more effectively, and makes large projects seem less overwhelming.

Using the Pomodoro Technique helps you to more accurately estimate how long it will take to complete tasks, which helps you plan your day and activities better and also manage expectations.

In ?summary, the Pomodoro technique is a tool to use if you want to become more productive. Check out the Pomodoro Technique??Blog or The Pomodoro??Getting Started Guide?if you wish to learn more about the Pomodoro Technique.

Note that the Pomodoro Technique is supposed to help you become more productive; not to place a burden on you. So feel free to modify and use as you please. For instance, If a task you are working on will take 40 minutes instead of the traditional 25, you can keep working on it for the extra 15 minutes after the timer goes off.